The Rams need to extend Jalen Ramsey during this offseason
By John Buhler
Jalen Ramsey is entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Los Angeles Rams need to be proactive about this and extend him this offseason.
The Los Angeles Rams need to submit cornerback Jalen Ramsey a contract extension here soon.
Los Angeles traded for the former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back before the deadline last fall. The Rams are in win-now mode and gave up the farm to get a star player of Ramsey’s caliber. Though Ramsey may want to test free agency waters next spring, Rams general manager Les Snead needs to prioritize putting together a new contract for Ramsey to sign this offseason.
In the past, Ramsey has expressed interest in playing for his hometown team in the Tennessee Titans before he retires. This may still be something he wants to do at some point. However, Snead needs to find a way to bring the talented defensive back to Los Angeles on a new contract very soon. Most importantly, Snead needs to do this before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is ratified.
This season will be the last year of the current CBA. The salary cap is expected to fall somewhere in the $200 to $204 million range. FanSided‘s Matt Verderame reported at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in Nashville the 2021 NFL salary cap could be as high as $240 million. This would be a massive spike from the approximately $10 million increase to the cap annually under the current CBA.
Ramsey and his agent know this and may want to delay signing a new contract for as long as possible. Not since opting to play his college football for the Florida State Seminoles has Ramsey been able to pick where he has played. He was a top-five pick by the Jaguars in the 2016 NFL Draft before being traded to the Rams midway through his fourth year in the league.
Ramsey is the type of talent you pay over $100 million on a five-year deal. At his best, Ramsey is the premier shutdown corner in the NFL, just like his Florida State idol Deion Sanders was before him. Whether or not it is the Rams, somebody will be willing to pay him top-dollar in his free agency. Of course, the Rams could slap him with the franchise tag in 2021, but that’s only causing more problems.
Even if the Rams were to tag Ramsey, he’d be paid the average of the top-five most compensated cornerbacks in the league. Los Angeles isn’t in a dire cash-flow scenario, far from it in fact.
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Owner Stan Kroenke has made a killing since move his team to Los Angeles from St. Louis, as well as opening brand-new SoFi Stadium in Englewood this season. Regardless, the Rams will still have to pay Ramsey a ton. Let’s hope they are wise enough to cut early costs with a long-term extension.
It’s the price you pay to be in business with an NFL superstar.